Miliary dermatitis pattern in a ferret

RE: Miliary dermatitis pattern in a ferret

Anthony Todd — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 19:16:24 GMT

[quote user="Neil Wheadon"] Interesting stuff, the write up looks good but is it right?[/quote]

Fair enough, I assume he or she sees a lot of cases although, when you see what adrenal disease is tagged with, you do wonder....

Tagged as: difficulty urinating, excessive scratching, ferret, hair loss, large vulva

RE: Miliary dermatitis pattern in a ferret

Neil Wheadon — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 16:07:34 GMT

According to Doctor Google

http://www.vetmedclinic.com/?p=293

Clinical Signs:
Alopecia is usually the first and sometimes the only sign of adrenal gland disease in ferrets. It can be present on the tail, rump, ventrum, and dorsum. The hair will epilate easily and the skin can appear flaky, inflamed, and erythematous. In unusual cases, the skin may become thin. It is not uncommon for alopecia to begin in the late winter and early spring. In younger ferrets with this disease, the hair will regrow in the late summer, but then alopecia will return the next winter or spring. Pruritus can accompany the alopecia although a number of ferrets may develop just pruritus with no other signs.

Of interest as well

It is important to realize that adrenal gland disease is not the same condition as Cushing’s disease, which affects dogs. Dogs can also develop adrenal problems, but their dysfunction does not involve the overproduction of sex hormones. Serum cortisol concentrations are normal in most affected ferrets and they also have a normal response to the ACTH stimulation test. A more appropriate term is hyperadrenocorticism or adrenal gland disease.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis:
Physical examination is an important part of diagnosing adrenal gland disease. Diagnosis typically is suspected based on clinical signs because there are few other diseases in ferrets that exhibit the same group of symptoms. In clinical cases, the urine cortisol:creatinine ratio has not been shown to be useful to diagnose this disease. Since cortisol concentrations rarely are elevated due to this disease, blood tests such as an ACTH stimulation test and low or high dose dexamethasone tests will not diagnose this disease either.

At present, the best way to diagnose this disease definitively, short of doing exploratory surgery, is with a specialized blood test called an adrenal androgen panel offered by the University of Tennessee. Ferrets with adrenal gland disease have elevated plasma concentrations of androgens and/or estrogens. A baseline plasma sample should be taken to measure androgen and estrogen concentrations. Elevations of these hormones may indicate the presence of adrenal gland disease. An ultrasound of the abdomen may show an enlarged adrenal gland—also confirming the presence of this disease.

Interesting stuff, the write up looks good but is it right?

Neil

RE: Miliary dermatitis pattern in a ferret

Anthony Todd — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 16:00:59 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]a secondary dermatitis is present in Cushings cases that could cause pruritis[/quote]

Sure but, in that case you've got a secondary dermatitis as well as the Cushings, which again, IMHE is rare indeed.

RE: Miliary dermatitis pattern in a ferret

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 12:04:33 GMT

[quote user="Neil Wheadon"]

Looking further pruritis is a feature is some Cushing cases (To be honest I found this surprising) and 2/3 have non palpable adrenal enlargement, so thankyou, I'll tell the client

[/quote]Having never diagnosed one I'm not really in a position to comment much but it doesn't surprise me that a secondary dermatitis is present in Cushings cases that could cause pruritis, equally it would surprise me if there was a palpable mass in the majority of cases.

RE: Miliary dermatitis pattern in a ferret

Anthony Todd — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 20:45:48 GMT

[quote user="Neil Wheadon"]Looking further pruritis is a feature is some Cushing cases (To be honest I found this surprising) [/quote]

Me too, any references or further comment?

Itching is more diagnostic than finding parasites, IMHO.

RE: Miliary dermatitis pattern in a ferret

Neil Wheadon — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 18:07:40 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]Has anyone seen any parasites? If not think Cushings.[/quote]

First presentation today at this clinic, no-one has seen parasites.

The hair thinning is mostly on the dorsum. I did feel the abdomen and no evidence of masses

Looking further pruritis is a feature is some Cushing cases (To be honest I found this surprising) and 2/3 have non palpable adrenal enlargement, so thankyou, I'll tell the client

Neil

RE: Miliary dermatitis pattern in a ferret

Anthony Todd — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 17:42:20 GMT

[quote user="Neil Wheadon"]Used every 2 months[/quote]

Query interval between treatments and is there any irritation, probably the definer re parasitic or hormonal, assuming ferrets react like cats or dogs?

RE: Miliary dermatitis pattern in a ferret

Martin Atkinson — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 17:26:38 GMT

Has anyone seen any parasites? If not think Cushings.

RE: Miliary dermatitis pattern in a ferret

Gillian Mostyn — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 13:48:08 GMT

I use stronghold in ferrets. Puppy dose.